Microsoft's Windows Strategy Gets Muddy

Microsoft reportedly doubles down on its own platforms while also taking a hard look at Android.

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Indications of Microsoft's push to update its Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8 operating systems continue to mount. Expected new features include a long-awaited notification center for Windows Phone and tweaks to make Windows 8.1's touch-oriented Modern UI more palatable to mouse-and-keyboard users.

However, a new leak suggests Microsoft is barreling toward one of its new platforms' most anticipated milestones: the merging of the Windows Phone and Windows app stores. Paradoxically, reports also say Microsoft is considering opening Windows to Android apps -- a move that could undermine the appeal of a combined app store.

A unified app store hasn't shown up in leaked Windows update builds, but Twitter user @AngelWZR, a known leaker of pre-release Windows information, posted images that indicate Microsoft is hard at work on one. The images, allegedly taken from a Microsoft presentation for developers, promise not only a single app store but also a version of Visual Studio that will allow developers to target both Windows and Windows Phone without having to write separate apps for each.

Windows and Windows Phone updates will reportedly debut around April, when Microsoft will hold its Build conference for developers. It's not clear whether the unified app store will launch that soon. The roadmap reportedly already includes rough plans to launch Windows 9 in early 2015.

As for Android, The Verge, citing unnamed sources, reported that Microsoft is "seriously considering" opening Windows and Windows Phone to Google's app ecosystem. ZDnet subsequently published a corroborating report, which also cited unnamed sources familiar with Microsoft's plans.

The Verge said Microsoft insiders are divided on the idea; some dissenters contend it could doom the Windows platform. There has been substantial speculation that Nokia, whose device business Microsoft is acquiring, could release an Android phone soon. Those alleged plans have provoked mild debate, but if Microsoft took the more radical step of welcoming Android into Windows, the ensuing controversy could be fierce.

The company's app ecosystem lags far behind Apple and Google offerings, and a unified app store could help address this deficit. But what incentive would developers have to focus on native Windows apps if Microsoft embraced Android, as well? This question was raised last month when Intel announced at CES that it had developed a "dual OS" chip that could run both Windows and Android natively, enabling users to switch between the two quickly with the click of a button.

"I think [dual OS] won't be necessary if Microsoft gets its act together," Carolina Milanesi, who specialized in mobile devices as an analyst at Gartner and now is director of insight at Kantar Worldpanel, told us at that time.

Milanesi said a dual OS reinforces the perception that Windows is useful only for legacy software. "What good does that do? How is that helping Microsoft stay relevant?" Rather than stacking up quasi-solutions to fundamental problems, Microsoft needs to find a foundation that convinces people to "actually choose to spend time" with Windows.

Moreover, earlier experiments with Windows and Androids haven't exactly set the world on fire. AMD and BlueStacks partnered last year to allow Android apps to run on Windows 8 devices, but if any would-be customers cared, the sentiment hasn't translated into meaningful gains in marketshare.

With Satya Nadella taking over as CEO, it's possible Microsoft is simply putting all options on the table. The company is in strong shape overall, but its Windows strategy clearly isn't working, due to problems with the product itself and external disruptions such as Google's recent pact with VMware to run virtualized Windows desktops on Chromebooks. Time will tell which path Microsoft takes, but with new leaks and speculation from well-placed sources emerging almost daily, Nadella will undoubtedly face formidable expectations when he finally addresses developers in April.

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Michael Endler joined InformationWeek as an associate editor in 2012. He previously worked in talent representation in the entertainment industry, as a freelance copywriter and photojournalist, and as a teacher. Michael earned a BA in English from Stanford University in 2005 ... View Full Bio

@ SaneIT, I share your opinion that Microsoft seems to be heading in the right direction. Bringing the same UI to every platform and integrating them smoothly could work for Microsoft in the not-so-long run. Offering Android apps in Windows is like inviting the wolf to their home to me. It will leave them seriously vulnerable.

@ J_Brandt, I agree that there can be hardly anything in apps world which can be called "One-size-fits-all". Display, processor and other specifications on different devices will certainly affect the performance of apps on different devices. It is just like stretching a picture on larger display which was actually made for a shorter display. You may stretch it to whatever lengths you want to but you can never get the same quality.

You are right on. The two big differences between phone and tablet/laptop is screen size and processing power. Over time, processing power will increase on phone but not size. Well, unless some kind of holographic projection technology becomes the norm anyway.

With HTML5 and using Model-View-Controller architecture, you can share a lot of code between these form factors. HTML5 is getting better at offline support and using native access (no browser to wrap the app). But you have to design your app much different for a small screen versus a larger screen, if you truly want the best experience in each world.

If these middleware tools get better at generating the proper Views needed for each form factor, maybe we'll get where we can write one code base. But we are not close to that yet. It's a facsinating area to watch, these small mobile screens have caused as much disruption in the development process since GUI replaced CUI. What you learned you have to learn all over again.

I think Microsoft's problem is that it has too much money. It can afford to fight a long, losing battle on the mobile front by trying to make Windows a robust competitor for phones and tablets. But consumers have spoken, and they just aren't interested.

I don't see how a combined store or app for the two OSes can work. You end up making compromises that ultimately destroy the real power of the application (or you make them huge and bloated they neither fit nor run on the average device/machine). From that perspective, pushing the web, HTML 5 and more makes more sense. This is where we were headed before the success of the iPhone and the App Store. Maybe we can return there, but its doubtful. Universally running applications are not in Apple, Google or Microsoft's "best" interest.

I run Bluestacks on my Windows tablet, but honestly I wish it didn't have to be that way. I like the direction that Microsoft is going with bringing the same UI to every platform and mixing Android into the offerings seems like they are admitting defeat. I would rather see them make development for the Win 8 platforms easier or more attractive. I don't think Android is going away but that doesn't mean Microsoft can't be competitive.

I've read a number of interpretations of what "Android Apps on Windows Phone" means. The most rational one is to enable Android application developers to use some kind of Microsoft cloud service that compiles their existing Android source code into a package suitable for installation on WinPhone 8 and subsequent submission to the Windows Store.

If this is what it means and the "packaged" Android app works well on WP8, seems like an excellent idea. Both phones have the similar buttons so this shouldn't be trying to breed a cat with a fish.